Community of Christ
Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The church reports approximately 250,000 members in 1,100 congregations in 59 countries. The church traces its origins to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Christ on April 6, 1830. His eldest son, Joseph Smith III, formally accepted leadership of the church on April 6, 1860, in the aftermath of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith.
Community of Christ is a Restorationist faith expression. Still, various practices and beliefs are congruent with mainline Protestant Christianity. While it generally rejects the term Mormon to describe its members, the church abides by a number of theological distinctions unusual outside Mormonism, including but not limited to: ongoing prophetic leadership, a priesthood polity, the use of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture, belief in the cause of Zion, the building of temples, and an interpretation of the Word of Wisdom. In many respects, the church differs from the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and most other Latter Day Saint denominations in its religious liberalism, belief in a more traditional conception of the trinity, and rejection of exaltation and the plan of salvation. Salvation is considered a personal matter and not subject to dogma, but salvation by grace alone is emphasized. The church considers itself to be non-creedal and accepts people with a wide range of beliefs. Church teachings emphasize that "all are called" as "persons of worth" to "share the peace of Christ".
Community of Christ worship follows a free-form worship placing more of the foundation on scripture based on the Revised Common Lectionary. From its headquarters in Independence, Missouri, the church offers a special focus on evangelism, peace and justice ministries, spirituality and wholeness, youth ministries and outreach ministries.
History
Formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Community of Christ regards itself as the true embodiment of the original church organized in 1830 by Joseph Smith, and it regards Joseph Smith III, the eldest surviving son of Smith, to have been his legitimate successor. The church was "legally organized on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York". The formal reorganization occurred on April 6, 1860, in Amboy, Illinois, as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints", adding the word Reorganized to the church name in 1872. The church was founded based on a pattern of lineal succession through Joseph Smith of Prophet/presidents of the church, and as a mainstream alternative to the Strangites and the larger LDS church led by Brigham Young. It has a long history as a Midwestern wing of the Latter Day Saint movement. It also had a long history of vocal opposition to plural marriage within the Latter Day Saint movement.Community of Christ considers the period from 1830 to 1844 to be a part of its early history and from 1844, the year of the death of the prophet-founder, to 1860, to be a period of disorganization. Since 1844, the doctrines and practices of the Community of Christ have evolved separately from the other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Changes in beliefs and practices
During the twentieth century, the then-Reorganized Church underwent what some scholars termed an "RLDS Reformation" in which the denomination's leadership pivoted toward mainline Protestant religious thought. Since the 1960s, the church's proselytizing outside North America have caused a re-assessment and gradual evolution of its traditional practices and beliefs.A revelation presented by Wallace B. Smith in 1984 decreed the construction of the Independence Temple and the ordination of women to the priesthood, after long-standing calls for both. Following the retirement of Smith as Prophet-President of the Church, W. Grant McMurray was appointed as the new President. Although McMurray had been designated prophet-president by Smith, some members objected because he was the first church president who was not a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, which they considered to be a distinguishing trait from other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.
These changes, among others, were controversial among the membership, and they led to the formation of breakaway churches such as the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; in 1994, former church historian Richard P. Howard estimated that 25,000 members had left to join such groups. Between the mid-1960s and the late 1990s, there was a one-third decline in new baptisms in the United States along with a 50 percent drop in contributions in the decade before 1998. The decline in membership was offset somewhat by an increase in converts outside the United States. Growth continues to be driven by missions outside the US, particularly in the developing world and in Australia. In recent years, the church has attracted many ex-Mormons.
The vision and mission statements of the Community of Christ were adopted in 1996 by the leading quorums of the church's leadership and reflect the peace and justice centered ministries of the denomination. In its mission statement, the church declares that "e proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love and peace." The vision statement states that "We will become a worldwide church dedicated to the pursuit of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit."
Sites
The church owns and operates the Independence Temple, which serves as its headquarters in Independence, Missouri. The church also owns and operates some Latter Day Saint historic sites in Lamoni, Iowa, and Plano, Illinois. The Auditorium in Independence housed the Children's Peace Pavilion until it was renamed the Peace Pavilion and moved into its own facility just east of the Temple complex. The Auditorium is the site of the major legislative assembly of the Community of Christ, which convenes during the triennial World Conference. The church sponsors Graceland University, with a campus in Lamoni and another in Independence, where the School of Nursing and the Community of Christ Seminary are based.For over a century, the denomination owned and operated the Kirtland Temple. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the Kirtland Temple and took on ownership as of March 5, 2024. Several previously Community-of-Christ-owned historic sites in Nauvoo, Illinois—including the Red Brick Store, Smith Family Homestead, and Mansion House—also transferred ownership as part of the same acquisition.
Teachings and practices
The Community of Christ states that it recognizes that "perception of truth is always qualified by human nature and experience" and it therefore has not adopted an official religious creed. Nevertheless, the Community of Christ offers a number of the commonly held beliefs of its members and leaders as the "generally accepted beliefs of the church". As Stephen M. Veazey, president of the church stated in 2006, "Community of Christ is a church that provides light for the way as well as space for the personal faith journey."After the death of Smith rended the initial movement, Community of Christ emerged as what historian Jan Shipps called a simultaneous "new creation" and "extension... of the original". In the twentieth century, Community of Christ underwent a "liberal protestantization" and is "ike other mainline and liberal Protestantisms", Vanel explains.
The Community of Christ generally accepts the doctrine of the Trinity and other commonly held Christian beliefs. The concept of Zion as both a present reality of Christian living and as a hoped for community of the future is a rather strongly held belief in the Community of Christ and it ties closely to the peace and justice emphasis of the denomination. The movement also differs from most other Christian faiths in its belief in prophetic leadership, in the Book of Mormon, and in an open canon of scripture recorded in its version of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is regularly appended.